It's a good week in Illinois: the strawberries are ready for picking! We've been out once already and brought home five gallons, which have already been stemmed and made into approximately four batches of freezer jam, two pies, one fruit salad and two loaves of strawberry bread. I feel some homemade strawberry ice cream coming on, too, I'm just saying. Illinois specialty growers are a good folks and patches like the one we go to, Gillam's in Canton, are run by…

Continue Reading

Fifteen years ago today, the corn was planted. And so were the beans, but only barely. Fifteen years ago today, my husband and I married in a country church in southern Illinois. It was glorious, except for the planting season. John had finished beans on the Tuesday before, then drove to my parents' farm in Albion for our wedding a couple days later. Today, fifteen years later, we've finished planting everything - the first time - and are patching in some replant. But we…

Continue Reading

So you may have noticed, Father's Day is this Sunday. And if you're like me, you may have seen those random internet gift guides offering up ideas for Dad: ties! Golf stuff! Man jewelry! Tech gadgets! And then, if you're like me, you realize that none of that is appropriate for your farmer husband. Or farmer father. My dad doesn't golf, he doesn't do technology, he doesn't grill, and he really doesn't "need" anything. My husband doesn't golf…

Continue Reading

Well. We had our first cattle show of the season last week. It was not terrible. In fact, it went pretty well, despite the craziness of trying to plant beans in the hours before and after. Jenna showed her heifer and won her class, which gave her a major boost of confidence. Her steer was up next, and apparently while the rest of us were at the show ring watching my niece, Kaity, show her heifer, the steer got a little, ahem, excited in the chute and my brother-in-law may or may not…

Continue Reading

It's a big day at the Spangler house: our first cattle show of the season. Also, it's a little nuts around here. Yesterday, Jenna and I washed, brushed, blew out, bedded, packed, cleaned and loaded all afternoon. And bless her heart, she loved it. Then we flew in the house at 5:10 p.m. - utterly covered in sweat, dirt, hair and manure - and all four of us were showered and out the door to Vacation Bible School by 5:35. I feel like there should be some kind of award for that. And…

Continue Reading

Once upon a time, it stopped raining, and I was able to get in my car, drive to a farm, and shoot some photos. It was glorious. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the clouds were fluffy. It was just two days ago. And a little farm boy named Chase got out of school early. Just in time for the Prairie Farmer photo shoot. And if you're feeling a bit down today - maybe you still have a lot to plant? And it's still raining? And there's no end in sight? Take a look at this…

Continue Reading

A list, because: 1. It's the last full week of school. Which means we're running to town every day for class plays, assemblies, lunches, baseball, carnivals, and more. Actual school work is rapidly winding down. We're staying out too late in the evenings because it's nice and we don't want to come inside, which is fine and dandy except for the school bedtimes. The kids are so done. And so are we. But still, we have two more days this week, one full day next week…

Continue Reading

As a writer and a farmer, there are some stories that will just never make it to print. Some are too personal; others can't be told without offending someone. If you farm with family, you surely know just what I mean about either case! Others would raise the ire of the farm safety folks, who do good work every single day but who would be astounded that some of us ever made it through our childhoods. Still others, I just never thought I would tell. That's the case with my…

Continue Reading

Yesterday, I was in hammer-down mode to get my flower beds cleaned off, ornamental grasses cut down, roses, trimmed, etc., etc., before the impending cold and rain set in (again). After the kids got home from school, eight-year-old Nathan assessed the situation and sensed an opportunity. "Mom. Do you want me to hook up my wagon to my four-wheeler and haul this stuff off?" And just like that, it was as if eight years of food, water and shelter had finally paid off. I…

Continue Reading

Last month, I was asked to speak at the Women in Agriculture conference, held in the Quad Cities, and organized by several Illinois Farm Bureaus. It was a fun and fabulous day. We learned about marketing, legislation and accounting software, just to name a few topics. And then I got to wrap up the day with a few thoughts on agriculture and farm life. As part of the presentation, my fabulous friend and local Fulton County Farm Bureau manager, Elaine Stone, asked me to create a handout for…

Continue Reading